Farm Teams of the 1940s

[Argie]

I found some old postings about farm teams for the Browns in the 1940s but it said no new postings or replies. My dad (now 89) played in St. Louis for a farm team, as I clearly remember, having had to sit through many games as a small child. I'm wondering if someone could find his record. His name was Henry "Hank" Lanteigne, and he was a pitcher. If this topic was closed and not supposed to be reopened, I do apologize.

[Bill_McCurdy]

I found some old postings about farm teams for the Browns in the 1940s but it said no new postings or replies. My dad (now 89) played in St. Louis for a farm team, as I clearly remember, having had to sit through many games as a small child. I'm wondering if someone could find his record. His name was Henry "Hank" Lanteigne, and he was a pitcher. If this topic was closed and not supposed to be reopened, I do apologize.

Argie, do you recall the names of any clubs your dad played for? According to the Professional Baseball Player Data Base, a CD published by Old Time Data, Inc., no player by the name of Henry "Hank" Lanteigne ever appeared in a professional game from 1930 forward. Your dad could have played prior to 1930, which isn't covered by this source, except for one thing - your own report of his present age as 89. Unless my basic math is wrong, that would've made him 12 years old in 1929, the first of all earlier years not covered by this usually exhaustive and accurate data base source.

To double check the possibility that Henry "Hank" Lanteigne could've slipped through and played for a major league club, I checked Baseball Almanac Dot Com and found nothing.

What does this mean? The choices are few:

(1.) the data sources I use are faulty;
(2.) perhaps your dad played pro ball under another name. If you think that may have been the case, please supply us with what that name might have been;
(3.) what you saw him play while you were still a child was not minor league ball, but either semi-pro, company club, or amateur ball.
(4.) he did not play at all, but that's offset by your memory of "... My dad (now 89) played in St. Louis for a farm team, as I clearly remember, having had to sit through many games as a small child."
(5.) I don't know what else we can tell you.

My apologies that I couldn't supply you with a clear and happy answer. Just remember: your dad is still your special guy, no matter what this search uncovers. He played baseball somewhere. It just may not have been on the level you've always thought.

Maybe some of our other members have some other research ideas that have eluded me.

[Argie]

Thank you for replying! I'm afraid I can't add much more except my dad was also nicknamed "Donuts", but I doubt that would show up on any records. I'll do a little more digging and see if anyone else in the family remembers the name of his team/s. I do remember a photo of him in uniform and will see if that can be located, also. The dates he played in St. Louis would have been after WWII until 1951, when we moved to another city.

[dave_heller]

If he played "in" St. Louis, then it certainly wasn't a Browns farm team. I'd have to guess a semi-pro or amateur club, which would be, unfortunately, harder to research. My only suggestion (not knowing where you live) would be to go to the St. Louis library or try to get microfilm loaned to your library of the approximate year(s) you think he played and do a search of the sports sections from like April-October.

Best of luck,

Dave Heller

[Brownieand45sfan]

Actually there was one "St. Louis Browns" farmclub that played in St. Louis. The St. Louis Whites in 1888.
I know, I know. I should get a life. :)

If he played "in" St. Louis, then it certainly wasn't a Browns farm team. I'd have to guess a semi-pro or amateur club, which would be, unfortunately, harder to research. My only suggestion (not knowing where you live) would be to go to the St. Louis library or try to get microfilm loaned to your library of the approximate year(s) you think he played and do a search of the sports sections from like April-October.

Best of luck,

Dave Heller